Amber Haze
by theDoctorlies
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem, especially when your roommate is drunk. Slight SasuNaru COMPLETE


Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I make no profit from writing this.

Summary: Things aren't always what they seem, especially when your roommate is drunk. [Slight SasuNaru]

A/N: Hello, folks. This is a little one-shot I thought up pretty randomly. I needed to get it out before another little idea I came up with randomly. It's AU, which I rarely write, I guess you could say. I'm using Tokyo U as a school because I don't know what other colleges to use as examples. Bare with me, okay? This is shounen-ai, and SasuNaru at that. If that offends you, please hit the back button. Flames are fed to my fish.

I'm really sorry ahead of time if Sasuke-kun is too OOC.

Enjoy.

* * *

Naruto was startled out of a dream about ramen when his cell phone landed on his head, still vibrating. He muttered darkly to himself as he flipped the blasted thing open, and shoved it against his ear, asking in an angry voice who the fuck was calling so early in the goddamn morning.

"Do you know a guy named Sasuke?" A gruff voice asked, sounding just as pissed off as the sleepy blonde felt. Naruto shot up in bed, a million questions piling up in his brain.

"Yeah, I do. Why?" He answered cautiously, kicking the blankets off his legs, throwing them over the side of the bed. Naruto had stiffened at his roommate's name, seeing as how none of the bastard's friends had his cell number. That meant the dark haired man was in some kind of trouble.

"Eh, you wouldn't happen to be Naruto, would you?" The gruff voice sounded tired, and the blonde had a feeling his roommate had done something to piss him off. For some reason, Sasuke seemed to be good at that.

"Yeah, I'm Naruto." The blonde sighed, pushing himself out of bed, and checking the time on his clock. The blood-red numbers flashed back at him 2:30 a.m. He grit his teeth in annoyance, promising himself that Sasuke would pay fort this.

"Ha! You poor bastard. Tch. You're roommate's passed out drunk on my counter, man. He's so wasted."

"And?" Naruto sighed, running a hand through his unkempt, blonde spikes. Who cared if his roommate was drunk off his ass and slumped over some bar counter? He wasn't Sasuke's fucking keeper.

"It's either you or the cops." The gruff voice suggested, like he really didn't care what option the annoyed blonde chose. Naruto glared at the wall, half-tempted to let the guy call the cops on his roommate. But the blonde knew the bastard would eventually get him back for it.

"Fine. I'll come and get him. What's the address?" Naruto sighed as he grabbed a pen form the inside of his nightstand, and calmly wrote the address on his palm. After hanging up with the bartender, Naruto shoved his phone into the pocket of his pajama pants, stepping over Kiba's sleeping form to reach his bedroom door. He quietly shut it behind him, tip toeing towards the condo door and wincing at every sound the floorboards made. He wanted to make it in and out before his dog loving best friend woke up.

The blonde stopped to shove his feet into his shoes, pulling on his favorite orange jacket. He pulled on his hat and gloves before grabbing his keys, hoping the weather had calmed down because he didn't have heat in his tiny car.

Sasuke so owed him for this.

Naruto finally left the condo, locking the door behind him. He went straight for the elevators, wanting to get down to the lobby as soon as possible. Of course, it was dead when he got down there, except for the doorman and the guy behind the counter. He ignored their confused stares as he pushed through the swinging doors and headed for the parking lot. He thanked his lucky stars that he parked close enough to the building so the snow flurries in the air didn't have enough time to stick to him. But he was dreading the drive to pick his bastard roommate up. The drive to the bar would've taken fifteen minutes at the most, but with the icy conditions of the road, it'd take at least forty-five minutes. Naruto would be fucking frozen by then.

He finally made it to his car without incident, sliding into the worn, leather seat and shutting the door behind him. He stuck his key in the ignition, turning the car on and wincing when too-loud music blared out of the speakers. He turned it down to normal levels as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the empty streets. He surpressed the need to drive like a full-out maniac on the slick streets, afraid of totaling his car.

It took nearly an hour to reach the bar, after somehow getting all of the red lights and the slickness on the roads. He was running low on patience when he finally made it into the warm building, spotting a mass of familiar, dark hair laid out over a marble countertop. There was a half-empty glass of amber-colored liquid still in Sasuke's hand.

Naruto rolled his eyes as he made his way to the bastard's side, trading looks with the bartender. The man looked amused but Naruto was anything but as he shook the older mans' shoulder. All he managed to get for his efforts was a sleepy grumble that sounded suspiciously like "Not now, Mr. Fairy, I'm trying to sleep here."

Oh, yes, Naruto was going to file that away later as embarrassing blackmail material. But as much as he was finally enjoying this moment, he had to wake Sasuke up before he drooled all over the counter.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto whispered, shaking the sleeping man harder while the bartender took the glass away. A few minutes passed before Sasuke finally lifted his head, his blood-shot eyes looking around for the source of his rude awakening. When he finally saw Naruto standing next to him, hand on his shoulder, he scowled and put his head back on the counter. Naruto just shook him again, making an impatient sound in the back of his throat.

"Fuck off, dead-last." The brunette growled, kicking out blindly with his foot and smirking in satisfaction when it hit the blonde's shin. Unfortunately, Naruto was a little more coordinated then him, because Sasuke lost his balance when the moron grabbed his ankle, and he slid right off the stool. He ended up sprawled on the floor with the world spinning wildly on its axis. Or was it just the room? Or maybe just him?

A callused hand reached down and gripped his elbow, helping him to stand straight. He glared at Naruto as the tanned boy grabbed his jacket from the floor and put it over his shoulders. The blonde was grinning.

"You know your Glare of Doom doesn't work on me, Sasuke." Naruto guided his roommate's arms into the sleeves of his jacket as if he were a small child, when he was in fact twenty-two. He even went as far as petting his head for being a good boy. It was so demeaning. "Awwww, little 'Suke-chan can't put his coat on by himself." The blonde teased, softly pinching one of the bastard's cheeks.

Sasuke scowled and smacked the hand away, moving towards the exit on unsteady legs. He almost made it, too, until he tripped over his own fucking feet, heading face first for the tiled-floor. He braced himself for the impact, his reflexes non-existent thanks to the alcohol in his system.

He was startled when a pair of warm arms wrapped around his waist, holding him safely against a strong chest. Sasuke never hated his roommate more than he did now.

"Aw, little 'Suke-chan can't stand up on his own, either." Naruto cooed into a reddening ear, making sure the brunette was steadied before moving away. He wasn't a big fan of bodily contact with people who were assholes like Sasuke.

"I swear to God I'll rip your balls off." Sasuke growled murderously, glaring at the too-cheerful blonde. Both men left the bar in completely opposite moods.

The ride to their shared condo was a tense one, that is, until Sasuke dozed off against the car window. Naruto glared at the dark haired man softly, wishing the bastard would've let him take his car. He could barely feel his fingers, and his breath was coming out in white puffs. He was afraid he'd get frostbite.

Naruto glanced at his roommate again, admiring how soft the man's features were when he wasn't scowling. He liked to watch the bastard sleep, and not in the creepy sit-by-his-bed way. Sometimes the brunette stayed up late to finish a term paper, eventually passing out on the living room couch. Naruto would always throw a quilt over the sleeping man, before heading to bed himself, but something always held him in place for a moment or two. It was the peaceful look on the bastard's face, like all was right with the world.

He saw Sasuke smile in his sleep once and it gave him nightmares for a week. Not that the other man's smiles were hideous or anything. It was just rare.

A small smile spread over the blonde's face, as he turned his eyes back to the road. He felt almost sad that he was moving out of their condo. But that sadness was wholly unnecessary. Sasuke made it damn clear he didn't want him there. He'd really wanted them to be friends. He had hoped for something more at first, but Sasuke was as asexual as they came.

It was nearing five-thirty when he made it back to the condo, and he was more than ready to go back to sleep. Sasuke had woken up as soon as the blonde had shut off the car. He growled when Naruto helped him out of the seatbelt, and the older man blamed his roommate when he tripped over his own clumsy feet. By the time they got to the condo, Naruto was ready to rip his hair out.

Naruto jammed his key into the lock, balancing Sasuke precariously on his other arm so the inebriated man wouldn't fall flat on his face. He got through the door with some difficulty, moving towards the kitchen table and sitting Sasuke heavily into one of the chairs. The blonde moved away from the table, towards the counter, and decided to make some coffee so the bastard could sober up. Sasuke wasn't usually such a heavy drinker, if at all.

He really needed to know these things. As he took off their coats and hung them on a hook by the door, he finally thought of something to say.

"So what made you decide to get smashed tonight? Or, should I say, this morning." Naruto asked innocently enough, making sure he didn't sound too interested. He distracted himself by scooping coffee mix into a starched, white filter, slipping it wordlessly into the plastic. He filled the back of the coffeepot with warm water, before replacing the glass container in its rightful place. When he was done, he turned around and leaned back against the cabinets, trying to figure out what was going on in the other man's head. Sasuke was always telling him how stupid he was because of the large quantity of beer him and Kiba were always guzzling down.

If that wasn't the definition of a hypocrite, then he didn't know what was.

Sasuke grunted softly, turning his head so that one dark eye peered at Naruto from the cover of silky bangs. The blonde found that he had to look away from that blurry gaze; the other man's eyes were far more expressive than he'd ever seen them.

The brunette snorted, "Since when do you care what I do, loser?"

Naruto just rolled his eyes, feeling an argument coming on. He didn't know why he cared so much about the bastard. He was obviously wasting his time on a lost cause.

"You're the irresponsible drunk, passing out like that on some dirty counter in a bar full of crazies. You might've been arrested. You should be kissing my feet in gratitude, you ungrateful prick." Naruto took a deep breath, determined not to let his temper get the best of him. Sasuke had always brought out his more violent side, and tonight was no exception. "I mean, shit, Sasuke, what are you gonna do when I move out? Who's gonna be here the next time. I sure as hell won't."

Except, you will, a little voice whispered in Naruto's head knowingly. He ignored it as he fixed his glare on Sasuke, who just stared back at him balefully. His bangs were still hanging low over his eyes, and Naruto couldn't see what was really written there.

The blonde huffed out a frustrated breath, "Never mind. You obviously don't give a shit about me. Why should I return the favor? Tch." Naruto turned back towards the coffeepot, his eyes stinging slightly as he watched the brown liquid drip from the filter. He stifled a yawn as he counted the drops, wanting to go back to sleep and forget ever being woken up by that damn bartender. The sound of wood on linoleum made him wince, the sound grating in the soft pitter-patter of the mostly quiet room. He counted Sasuke's footsteps in his head, like he'd been doing with the coffee, and nearly jumped out of his skin when unsteady arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Hn. Loser." Sasuke murmured, sliding his hands around to the blonde man's front, thumbs hooking into the waistband of his pajama pants, resting his chin in a head of soft, blonde hair. The brunette smiled at his roommate's soft intake of breath, smug that he could drag such a reaction out of the shorter man. And all it had taken was a single caress of his breath against a bare neck. "It's not that I don't care about you." He said softly, nuzzling his cheek against the blonde's spikes, knowing somewhere in the back of his head that his Uchiha pride was dwindling rapidly. He could hardly make himself care, though, as he slid his fingers under the moron's orange T-shirt. His skin was surprisingly soft. "I care more than I should grant myself to. You're an easy person to care about, although you're persistently annoying."

"Thanks." The shorter man said sarcastically, elbowing Sasuke in the ribs to get him to back away. The bastard only tightened his hold. "Answer my question then, if you care so much. Why did you decide to get so smashed tonight?"

Sasuke's hands were starting to heat the skin at his waist, and the blonde wondered if his roommate had caught a cold or something while he was out having fun. Although, the word fun did leave a nasty taste in his mouth.

Sasuke snorted, "Why else? You're moving in with dog breath. I'll be alone again, in this huge condo. I don't want you to go."

Naruto felt like his heart had jumped into his throat, out of his mouth, and proceeded to do a happy jig before jumping back into his chest. While the imagery erased some of the shock he felt, his brain still refused to come to terms with what he'd just heard. Sasuke actually cared about him leaving? He actually...

First off, Sasuke was drunk. And second off, they'd known each other for over three years and the man never showed any inclination before that he actually gave a shit about him. How could he trust the bastard's word now?

"Say something." The other man pleaded, panicking slightly (only slightly because Uchiha's never panicked) when his roommate shrugged out of his embrace and refused to meet his eyes. He clenched his hands at his sides, glaring at the innocent coffeepot slowly brewing his sobriety, and willed it to burst into flames. Here he was, breathing his soul-a little drunkenly, mind you-and Naruto was completely writing him off. What more did the idiot want? Blood?

When Naruto finally gained the courage to look up at his roommate, it took all off his will power not to fall helplessly into Sasuke's eyes. They were so expressive in this moment, swirling with confusion, anger, and hurt like he'd never seen in them 'til now. It made his chest ache for something simpler, where his roommate wasn't still cruising on a buzz.

"So that's it?" Sasuke growled suddenly, angrily, as he grabbed a hold of the blonde's elbow and tugged him closer, somehow stronger than he should rightly be. Naruto flinched and reflexively looked away, not wanting to drift into the bastard's eyes again. Another rough tug, though, and he was looking into livid, dark eyes. "Listen, you jackass. You can't just force a confession out of me and just ignore it!"

"Oh, I'm the jackass now? Excuse me, but who's the drunk one here? And let go of me, asshole, that wasn't a fucking confession." Naruto immediately regretted his words, as the other man's face hardened, his eyes scrutinizing him coldly. The blonde pulled his arm out of Sasuke's loosened grip, turning back towards the coffeepot. He could feel the brunette's angry gaze on the back of his head. "Hey, maybe you should get to bed. You have classes in a few hours, right?"

He wasn't trying to avoid the problem. He was just too tired to deal with it. It was better if he got some sleep, and brought it up again tomorrow.

If Sasuke even remembered.

"Would you just say something?" Sasuke hissed, frustrated that the younger man wasn't listening. He was trying to be serious. It didn't matter if he was drunk; he'd feel the same fucking way later. He always did.

"Go to bed, Sasuke. Please." The blonde moved away from the coffeepot, reaching into the cupboard and pulling a mug out. He filled it with fresh-brewed coffee and took a welcome sip, trying to ignore the eyes trying to set him on fire. After what felt like an eternity of torture, Sasuke finally stormed out of the kitchen, slamming his bedroom door so hard his blonde roommate winced and dropped his mug full of coffee. It shattered into a million glass shards when it met the floor, splashing coffee all over the clean linoleum. The blonde crouched down to pick up the larger pieces of glass, ignoring the clear wetness that dropped down form his cheeks to mix with the coffee. He concentrated on not jcutting himself as he dumped the broken pieces of his favorite mug into the trash bin, taking the sponge out of the sink to clean up the coffee before it stained the floor.

When everything was clean and less stressful, he poured himself another cup of coffee and sank into the chair that Sasuke had just left. He hung his head in his hands, feeling completely horrible for what he'd said to his roommate. He knew he'd gone too far, saying such harsh things. But all was fair when it came to matters of the heart. He'd protect his with as much tenacity as anyone else would. After all, he did wear it on his sleeve.

The selfish part of him reminded him, in a nasty little voice, that Sasuke was everything he'd been hoping to find when he went off to college. The blonde shut the little voice up quite well, pinching the inside of his elbow to distract himself. It didn't last long, though, when he realized he'd never get away from his guilt unless he apologized.

Yeah, if Sasuke even remembered.

In his room, Sasuke stripped out of his dirty clothes, leaving them on the floor for once as he slipped underneath the cool fabric of his comforter. He felt tired all of a sudden, a sign that his buzz was wearing off, had been since Naruto brought him into the condo. He could feel his thought process rebooting, and one thing was crystal clear in his mind: Naruto liked him, and he sure as hell liked the other man, too. It was just a matter of time...

He should've seen this coming. He was a genius, after all.

The brunette shut his eyes, trying to stop thinking so he could sleep. He had class in a little over five hours, and it wouldn't be good if he didn't get enough sleep. It was bad enough that he'd be waking up with a killer hangover. He didn't need his brain to shut down with sleep deprivation.

Sasuke sighed and regulated his breathing, fingers relaxing from the vice-like grip they had on the sheets underneath him.

Sleep came to him slowly.

* * *

Naruto was startled awake for the second time that morning when something ice-cold splashed onto his head. The blonde screeched and bolted upright in the chair, wincing as it tipped back and went crashing to the floor, his hard bouncing against the cold, linoleum floor. He bit his lip as pain exploded behind his closed lids, Kiba's obnoxious laughter ringing in his ears.

"Rise and shine, blondie!" The dog lover grinned, peering down at his dazed best friend with slightly narrowed eyes. He reached down to yank the younger man up, still chuckling to himself. He was completely unfazed by the blonde's icy glare.

Naruto scowled as he dusted himself off and righted the chair, glancing briefly at the time. It was almost ten a.m., and Sasuke had class at eleven. He hoped the bastard was up soon, because the streets were probably twice as crappy as earlier that morning.

"I need to get going, Naruto. I have to meet with Hinata." The brunette grinned, all teeth, slapping his irritated best friend's back before heading out of the condo, whistling a tune the other man hadn't heard in a long time.

Kiba was acting strange, now that he thought about it.

The blonde shook his head and went over to the sink, pouring the rest of his cold coffee into the drain. He wasn't really one for coffee, since he had a perpetual sugar rush even without it. He didn't need to be all jittery, too.

It was half an hour later when Sasuke's bedroom door finally opened, and the brunette stepped out, holding a hand to his head. Naruto went straight for the aspirin on the windowsill, dumping two pills into his palm, then filling a glass half-full with water. When he turned back towards his roommate, who was starting to remind him of the walking dead, he was startled to find a pair of unfocused, dark eyes two inches from his face. Sasuke said nothing as he silently took the aspirin from the startled man's palm, downing the pills and water in one go.

Naruto watched him nervously, unable to look away from those dark eyes. "Morning, bastard." He whispered, taking the glass out of Sasuke's hand, setting it in the sink. The moment was tense, quiet, as the two men stared each other down. Naruto looked away first, his cheeks coloring. Last night's events were still very clear in his mind.

"Hn." The brunette grunted, moving over towards the fridge and pulling it open. Naruto watched him carefully, gauging his mood. Sasuke was cranky, but he was always that way. Apparently the bastard didn't remember a thing.

"Hey." Naruto said softly, fidgeting with the drawstrings on his pajama pants. "Do you, uh, need a ride to class?" He asked, looking at the ground. He almost missed the glare Sasuke sent his way. "Hey, don't give me that look! You're the one that got drunk last night!"

"I know that." The brunette hissed, wishing he had forgotten what had happened just a few hours ago. The anger, the embarrassment, just the feelings in general...he wanted to take them all back, and pretend like he didn't care, for once.

"Then you'd know you need a ride." Naruto grumbled, chewing on his bottom lip in frustration. He sighed as he started to walk away, clenching his hands into fists. He had been right to refuse Sasuke that morning. He didn't even seem to remember the most important parts of what had gone on between them.

"Are you sure you want to, after what happened earlier? I bared my soul, and you didn't even bat an eyelash." Sasuke said through gritted, teeth, and for once, wanted Naruto to look him in the eyes, no pretenses between them. They'd always had a love-hate relationship, although it was more on the hate side than anything else.

Naruto turned around then, suddenly looking haggard in the dim light of the kitchen. He took a step back in Sasuke's direction, and another, until his head was resting in the crook of the bastard's shoulder, and warm arms were wrapped around his waist. The moment would've been perfect, if his stomach hadn't chosen that moment to grumble in protest, demanding to be fed. Naruto pulled away sheepishly, sliding his hands reluctantly away from Sasuke's smooth skin, and realizing with a pleasurable shock that he was shirtless.

"Thank you for picking me up this morning, dead-last." Sasuke leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, breathing in the moron's distinctive, musky scent. For some reason, the blonde always smelled like citrus and miso ramen.

Naruto nodded against him, blushing softly as he pressed his cheek to the older man's chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was a while before either of them moved, Naruto's stomach gurgling louder to make it's displeasure known.

Sasuke merely smirked as he pulled away, offering to make them breakfast as a thank you for what the blonde had done for him. Later, he let Naruto drive him to class, and then to pick his car up in that lonely, bar parking lot. They spent the night together, wrapped up in a quilt on the couch with hot cocoa in their hands, watching lame reruns of even lamer shows.

It was nice. Naruto didn't even regret turning down Kiba's offer.

~The End~


End file.
